U.S. Department of Defense
March 23, 2015
NATO Responding to Russia’s Actions Against Ukraine
By Jim Garamone
WASHINGTON: NATO is responding to Russia…with the largest reinforcement of collective defense since the end of the Cold War, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said over the weekend in Brussels.
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Russia also has troops in Moldova [that is, Transdniester] and Georgia [Abkhazia and South Ossetia], and Russian forces are working to destabilize Eastern Ukraine.
Russian Actions Spur NATO
…NATO [is making] sweeping changes. “The adaptation that is taking place now is a very big and fundamental adaptation of the NATO defense posture,” Stoltenberg said.
The alliance is doubling the size of its response force, the secretary general said. Once finished, he said, the lead elements of this force will be able to move in within as little as 48 hours.
The alliance, he added, is establishing command and control units in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.
This is just a start, the secretary general said.
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The alliance’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances has impressed Stoltenberg, who took over late last year. NATO remains the strongest military alliance in history, he said, and the end of the Cold War demonstrated NATO’s ability to change, adapt and operate.
“The basic message is that NATO is ready to defend all allies against any threat and … an attack on one ally is an attack on all 28,” the secretary general said.
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